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There have been several quiet amendments to citizenship, immigration and refugee laws and the administration of those laws over the past few years.

Among them: A change that denies citizenship to the second generation of Canadians born abroad; expansion of the temporary workers program; denial of refugee claims for those who have come from or through so-called safe countries; and, the increasing number of new immigrants who live in poverty placing greater demands on the social safety net.

What better weekend than this Canada Day holiday to consider those changes and their impacts.

Let’s start with the stripping of citizenship from expatriates’ children.

Since 2009, a child who is born abroad to a Canadian who was also born abroad is not eligible for citizenship. (There are two exceptions: children of diplomats and military personnel.)

Citizenship and Immigration’s website says this rule ensures that citizenship cannot be passed down to “endless generations born outside the country.” And there is some merit to that argument.

However, it does render some children of Canadians stateless — a breach of international law.

And it is my experience that most Canadians living outside the country and their foreign-born children are as proud and, dare I say, as devoutly Canadian as those who have never left home.

Their expat identity may be steeped in nostalgia and defined by yearnings for things like Hawkins Cheezies, leaves turning red in autumn, or hockey, but it doesn’t make it any less sincere.

And, as technology shrinks the world, the reality is that many expats are at least as well-informed about our country’s current events as many other Canadians.

What’s ironic about this change is that it was included in a rewrite of the Citizenship Act that was supposed to fix a 1977 version that took away citizenship from more than a quarter of a million Canadians.

The government has been repeatedly told that the unintended consequences of the 2009 amendment could be easily rectified by requiring second-generation born-abroad kids to affirm their citizenship by spending three years in Canada. That is the same period of time that would-be immigrants are required to be in the country to qualify for citizenship.

Yet the government has done nothing to rectify the situation, which suggests that far from valuing the skills and experience of foreign-born children, they are seen as diminishing Canada.

And not only did the government fail to consult Canadians living and working abroad before the changes were made, it has done little to inform Canadians living abroad about it so that they can do what is needed to ensure that their children’s or grandchildren’s futures aren’t at risk.

As for temporary foreign workers, there are currently 330,000 of them. That is triple the number only a decade ago.

Temporary workers are not eligible for citizenship. Instead, they come as bonded labourers, tied to a specific job and a specific employer. If they complain, they are at risk of being fired and sent home.

Some temporary foreign workers pay labour brokers anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 to get Canadian jobs. How different is this from the Chinese head tax for which Canadians only recently apologized and paid reparations?

There is also growing evidence that, rather than these workers coming to fill jobs that Canadians can’t fill, they are being hired instead of Canadians.

But the most recent change affects refugees. Asylum-seekers from 35 so-called “safe countries” are no longer eligible for health benefits, and their claims are fast-tracked, presumably to get them out of the country more quickly.

A safe country is defined as one where citizens are protected from discrimination.

Again, there is some merit to this.

After all, there are 44,000 untraceable migrants currently in Canada. And, it is hard to argue that countries such as Belgium, France, Austria, Japan and the United States aren’t safe for their citizens.

But critics question whether Mexico is really safe for all people regardless of race, gender or sexual preference. They question whether Hungary is safe given the rising level of anti-Semitism and long-standing discrimination against the Roma.

Earlier this week, Reputation Institute announced that for the third time in a row, its survey found Canada to be held in the highest regard of 50 countries.

The ranking was based on a survey of 27,000 people who were asked about the trustworthiness, esteem and respect they held for citizens of different countries, as well as their perceptions about whether a country is safe, welcoming, has an effective government and progressive social and economic policies.

Canada was built by people from all over the world, who came here and worked hard to build a tolerant, decent and fair society.

It may not have the same rousing ring as being the most powerful or most wealthy. But this is the heritage that we celebrate this weekend, and it is a legacy worth continuing.

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Daphne Bramham: Canada Day -- time to consider who we are and what we value

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